American held for threat to kill political rival

MANILA, Philippines — A Florida man who once ran for a congressional seat was arrested in Manila for allegedly threatening to kill his political rival, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

William Robert Braddock III, 39, was arrested along Roxas Boulevard in a joint operation by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Diplomatic Security Service-Overseas Criminal Investigations.

Braddock is being held at the BI’s detention facility in Taguig, where he will remain until his deportation, the bureau said.

Braddock, reportedly an undocumented alien, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a Florida court on charges of interstate transmission of threat to injure after he was allegedly recorded threatening to kill Anna Paulina Luna, his opponent as the Republican candidate for the 13th Congressional District in Florida, and her associate in 2021.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that Braddock, in a 30-minute phone call, allegedly mentioned that he had access to Russian and Ukrainian “hit squads.”

Luna obtained a temporary stalking injunction from the court against Braddock, who later dropped out of the race.